An Alberta judge threw out a separatist referendum petition Wednesday, saying Premier Danielle Smith's government had a duty to consult with First Nations. Justice Shaina Leonard also said Alberta's chief electoral officer should never have issued the petition. Lawyers for several First Nations argued last month that the province's referendum process and its use by separatists are unconstitutional, as there's...
There are questions as to why the Beaches—East York Liberal MP — whose own 2014 federal nomination win was challenged — and his team didn’t publicly raise concerns during the meeting Saturday.
Premier Danielle Smith is rejecting the ruling of an Alberta judge who on Wednesday quashed a separatist petition and says the province will appeal the court ruling. In her written judgment, Justice Shaina Leonard ruled the petition should never have been issued because the provincial government failed in its duty to consult with First Nations and Alberta’s separation would be...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce the federal government’s long-delayed clean electricity strategy on Thursday, according to senior federal sources. The strategy -- dubbed the National Electricity Agenda -- will lay out a plan to double Canada’s electricity grid capacity by 2050, sources say, amounting to the biggest buildout of the national grid in Canada’s history. The plan...
Canada's headline carbon price was supposed to rise to $170/tonne by 2030.The federal government and the Alberta government are nailing down a deal on industrial carbon pricing, largely considered Canada's most important policy for driving down harmful greenhouse gas pollution. CBC News has confirmed that both levels of government have agreed that Alberta's effective carbon price would increase to $130/tonne...
In this week’s political tracking, the Liberal’s currently have a 12 point lead over the Conservatives. Of note there has been downward pressure on NDP support in the period following the NDP leadership race. The Canadian top issue of concern remains centered on the economy. Jobs and the economy lead, followed by inflation and relations with the United States.
Public support for the governing Liberal Party is still high in Canada, a new Research Co. poll has found. In the online survey of a representative national sample, 46% of decided voters across Canada would back the Liberal candidate in their riding in a federal election, up one point since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in February 2026.
Americans are impatient with their chaotic President. For a shockingly long time, they seemed willing to shrug off his juvenile framing of complex issues. Some winced, many looked away. Millions marched, and the rest of the world wondered why it wasn’t millions more. Trump will never stop being Trump. But he’s got fewer cards. He’s spending billions on a war...
Perhaps the most attention-grabbing criticism of the Carney government's proposed changes to environmental regulations and permitting has come not from across the aisle, but from within the Liberal caucus — and is being framed as a comparison with the last Conservative prime minister. "This goes beyond what [Stephen] Harper proposed when he was in power," Steven Guilbeault, the former environment...
This week's announcement is expected to feature key dates surrounding Alberta's pipeline proposal. Alberta and the federal government are looking at a fall date for when Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet will designate a pipeline to the West Coast as being in the national interest, National Post has learned. Building a new one-million barrel-a-day pipeline from Alberta to the West...
Buried deep in the pages of a discussion paper released Friday is the announcement that the government is open to and seeking a report on the potential amalgamation of certain unnamed “key ports” in Canada and “divestiture” of others.
Is Canada on track to meet its climate goals? The honest answer is “no,” and the really honest answer is that Canada’s climate goals will never be reached. They are folly and were designed by climate idealogues who had no concept of consequence, economic reality, or un...
The controversy over Louise Arbour’s appointment as Governor-General is unusual in that both sides cite the same set of facts. She’s a former Supreme Court justice, say her supporters, a former international war-crimes prosecutor, and a former UN high commissioner for human rights, among a long list of other offices and laurels. Exactly, say her opponents: a bona fide member...
As Mark Carney often reminds us, he is not, as he puts it, “a career politician.” In many ways, that is a good thing. After two decades of rancorous, often toxic uber-partisanship, Carney’s no-nonsense, low-key approach is a welcome relief and reassuring to Canadians who have been deeply unnerved by Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on our country.
On the recent anniversary of the April 2025 election that confirmed Mark Carney and the Liberals as Canada’s government, there were many analyses offered on what the year had achieved and what the next one might hold. But few people took a closer look at what the first year of Carney’s tenure has meant to the Official Opposition, the Conservative...
The political ground in Alberta could shift radically in the next few days. Premier Danielle Smith will finally have a weapon to slap down separatism. The separatist leaders, meanwhile, are also doing an excellent job of slapping down separatism. A pipeline and economic deal with Ottawa is widely expected.
Commenting on the trucker convoys that took place in 2022 in Ottawa and Coutts, Alta., prominent security analyst Wesley Wark said, “I think the history of the Freedom Convoy has really not settled into the Canadian consciousness.” “It may be some time before we really figure out for ourselves what was involved here, what was at stake,” Wark, a senior...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is avidly wooing the west — but will his own caucus trip him up? Last Friday, Carney met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to reassure her that Ottawa’s got her back on a second bitumen pipeline from Alberta to Canada’s West Coast. After the tête-à-tête Smith said, “This morning I said ‘if’ a deal gets signed...
A deal between Premier Smith and Prime Minister Carney. Very soon. Book your seat
On Friday evening, just before he had hoped to secure the Liberal nomination for a provincial byelection in Scarborough Southwest, Nate Erskine-Smith posted a video to his social media feeds that did not leave a lot of room for interpretation of his future plans. It was an endorsement, of sorts, from Prime Minister Mark Carney. Erskine-Smith, the MP for the...
There is only one way Alberta leaders’ contempt for Canada makes any sense. They don’t think they need Canada because, as David Parker says, 'we have America backing us'
If you haven’t seen Richard Warnica’s reports over the weekend in the Star on the leadership of the Alberta separatist movement, do yourself a favour: read them. Warnica spent time among people pushing the cause of Alberta independence and specifically with Mitch Sylvestre, the man he describes as the “architect” of the movement.
Building at speeds not seen in generations, as per Mark Carney’s oft-repeated election pledge, has been less hypersonic than the prime minister might have wished. As the new parliamentary budget officer pointed out last week in an analysis of the spring fiscal update, only two of 15 projects being overseen by Carney’s Major Projects Office are actually under construction, and...
It’s been a rollicking week in the nerdy world of data collection in Canada — the massive privacy breach of Alberta voter information, the disturbing revelations about how AI chatbots are mining personal details, and now on the heels of all that, national census day. Tuesday is the deadline for all Canadians to complete either a long-form or short-form census...
Something odd is happening in Canada’s national politics. Governing is usually a recipe for a short honeymoon followed eventually by a bitter divorce. Today’s man on the top of the wedding cake has a way of becoming tomorrow’s villain.
“I wish I knew how to quit you.” The line that defined the movie “Brokeback Mountain” is also, it turns out, a problem for the Leader of the Official Opposition. Pierre Poilievre cannot quit Justin Trudeau.
For generations, Canada’s foreign policy rested on a comfortable assumption: geography tied us to the United States, while values linked us to Europe. We never had to choose between the two because the Atlantic alliance functioned as one strategic community. That world has changed. This week, the European Delegation in Ottawa celebrated its 50th anniversary at a moment when the...
There’s an expression I heard years ago that I try to keep in mind for perspective on days when it feels like everyone in the world has been sent specifically to annoy and oppose me. The original version used naughty language, but I’ll clean it up for the sake of this venerable newspaper. It goes like this: If you wake...
Last week I reviewed mainly the domestic record of the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney over the past 13 months, although, as was mentioned, the principal point that Canadians seem to hold in his favour is the foreign policy perception of his ability ”to stand up to Trump.” Few could forget how Carney, with the connivance of the anti-conservative...
Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to make it easier to kill off endangered species, pollute waterways and risk human health, all in the name of fast-tracking private-sector development projects. For a prime minister who dismissed progressive Liberal MPs’ concerns over spending on child care, health care and pharmacare during a caucus meeting this week, Friday’s announcement on streamlining infrastructure project...
I feel perhaps I have been unfair to Donald Trump. Regular readers will know that he has been the subject of the occasional reproof in these corners. Among other things, it has been suggested that he is insane, incompetent, corrupt, treasonous, bottomlessly ignorant, easily manipulated, a Batman villain, and a modern-day Nero: possessed of every vice, devoid of every virtue...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s ‘much more confident’ about progress on a pipeline deal after what she describes as a ‘meeting of the minds’ with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa on Friday. The Political Pulse panel weighs in.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had an opportunity to reinvigorate his party this week at one of Canada’s most important political networking conferences. Unfortunately for the part, he delivered an underwhelming speech that lacked vision, energy and real answers to the challenges facing Canada’s conservative movement.
Pierre Poilievre’s speech to the conservative Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa on Thursday was a perfectly acceptable Opposition leader’s address. Modestly delivered and modestly received, it had much to be modest about. The problem was, it sounded like a reheated version of one of his speeches from last year’s election, a campaign in which he was rejected...
There is still a chance, however remote, that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith comes to her senses and realizes the risks associated with a separatist referendum aren’t worth the rewards they offer to her political career. But I certainly wouldn’t bet on it, and I doubt Prime Minister Mark Carney will either. And while overt federal involvement in any separatist referendum...
About 6,200 federal public servants have applied to retire early, with just more than two months to go until the deadline. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website says 6,214 applications have been received as of May 12 and that eligible employees have until July 24 to apply. The program, which was launched in late March, is part of the...
Elections Alberta says the separatist group at the centre of a massive voter information breach may not have shared the full list of individuals who accessed its public database. The group, called the Centurion Project, created an app containing the names and addresses of nearly three million Albertans, which Elections Alberta traced back to an official voter list the group...
Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, the head of the Royal Canadian Navy, is being promoted to second-in-command of the Canadian Armed Forces. The Department of National Defence confirms Topshee is replacing the retiring Lt.-Gen. Stephen Kelsey as vice-chief of the defence staff. Rear-Admiral Dan Charlebois is being promoted to the rank of vice-admiral and will assume command of the Navy.
The Canadian military is formally asking the defence industry to identify what companies can offer to either upgrade or replace Canada's aging fleet of tanks. The federal government published a request for information from potential suppliers so Ottawa can analyze options available on the market and start to draw up plans for future armoured land vehicle fleets.
Ottawa has spent more than $800 million on artificial intelligence technology since 2023, according to data provided by the federal government. The sum includes two previously announced deals: a $350 million public service contract with Dayforce to replace the troubled Phoenix pay system and a $240 million investment in the AI company Cohere.
Canadians are split on what they think should happen when a member of Parliament decides to change political parties, a new poll suggests. The survey of just over 1,000 people was conducted by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail shortly after the Liberals secured a majority government in April, following three by-elections and five MPs crossing the floor since November.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Alberta on Friday to meet with Premier Danielle Smith and announce an update on the memorandum of understanding to build an oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast, Global News has learned. While sources tell Global News the details of what will be announced aren’t yet finalized, the expected public announcement comes after...
Prime Minister Mark Carney set an ambitious target last year for the country to double its non-US exports over the next decade, a goal that built on his election campaign pledge to make Canada’s economy less reliant on its southern neighbor. Since then, his government has claimed early signs of success. Its recent budget update said trade diversification efforts “are...
National messaging built around B.C.’s property rights debate risks oversimplifying a complex legal reality, while a failure to communicate has 'ceded the stage to fear and misinformation,' say pundits.
Ottawa and Alberta are close to finalizing a new accord on industrial carbon pricing that would result in the fee going up to $130 a tonne by 2040, two government sources, one federal and one provincial, said Tuesday. If approved, the agreement would dramatically roll back former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s marquee climate policy and set the stage for the...
Terrance Cole names Port of Vancouver as key entry point for ingredients of illicit drugs. Chemicals used to make fentanyl are streaming into the Port of Vancouver on their way to drug labs run by Mexican cartels on Canadian soil, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told senators in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. DEA administrator Terrance Cole said...
After election victory, Reform UK leader says Canadian prairie populist Preston Manning is someone to emulate. Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage received a hero's welcome when he arrived late last week at a victory party in Chelmsford, an Essex commuter town on the outskirts of London, a world away from that city's centre of power. The silver-tongued leader of this...
Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith cast doubt Tuesday on a potential leadership bid for the provincial Liberals, hours after filing a notice of appeal to that party challenging the result of a nomination race that he lost. Erskine-Smith was vying to represent the provincial party in the upcoming Scarborough Southwest byelection ahead of an intended bid for the leadership of the...
Despite losing a nomination contest to run for the Ontario Liberals over the weekend, federal Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith says he plans to follow through on his plan to resign his seat in the House of Commons before MPs rise for the summer. “I am going to resign my seat by the end of the parliamentary session to ensure that...
The man at the centre of a massive public data leak isn't co-operating with an investigation by Elections Alberta, says the agency. Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure said in a statement that David Parker, leader of the Centurion Project, has so far refused to comply with a cease-and-desist letter sent last week. The letter says Parker is required to sign...
OTTAWA -- The federal government is extending the contracts of about 750 term workers at its pay centre to manage a surge in expected job cuts.
Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says he's worried the federal government is spying on his party. St-Pierre Plamondon admits he has no proof but says there's a long history of spying and surveillance against his party. The Parti Quebecois is leading the polls with only months to go before October's general election and has promised to hold a sovereignty...
The former environment minister who helped to create the Impact Assessment Agency eight years ago says the federal government's proposal to change how pipelines are assessed risks delaying those projects even further. "I'm not saying you couldn't improve the process. But trying to jam through projects and making major changes, similar to what we saw under Stephen Harper, isn't going...
Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith filed a notice of appeal Tuesday to the provincial Liberals, challenging the result of a nomination race that he lost. Erskine-Smith was vying to represent the provincial party in the upcoming Scarborough Southwest byelection ahead of an intended bid for the leadership of the party. He lost Saturday to Ahsanul Hafiz by a slim margin then...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country has started preparations for a military drone deal with Canada. In a post on social media, he says 20 countries are already working with Ukraine on similar deals. The Canadian Press has reached out to National Defence Minister David McGuinty and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand for comment. Prime Minister Mark Carney's office...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he doesn't believe in attacking other cities' bids to host a multinational defence bank as he makes his own pitch for Toronto as the best choice for the project. Ford made the comments in a news conference today after he was asked to respond to allegations that Toronto officials have been lobbying for their city...
Elections Alberta estimating 33 million ballots required for October referendum. Alberta’s chief electoral officer says the province’s list of electors shouldn’t be shared with any political parties until the legislature makes changes to better protect Albertans’ personal information. Speaking to reporters for the first time since his announcement last month that the personal information of nearly three million voters may...
As Canada prepares for another “challenging” fire season, provincial and private-sector wildland and forest firefighters are intensifying their push for federal recognition and respect for the public safety work they already perform. “We know we’re heading into another very dangerous wildfire season, and these firefighters need to head into it knowing that we’ve got their back,” said NDP MP Gord...
The leader of the separatist organization accused of misusing Alberta’s list of electors by providing hundreds of supporters with access to private information belonging to 2.9 million residents is refusing to co-operate with investigators. David Parker, the political organizer behind the Centurion Project, is stonewalling Elections Alberta, according to a statement from the head of the agency. “I can confirm...
In this week’s political tracking, the Liberal’s currently have a 12 point lead over the Conservatives. Of note there has been downward pressure on NDP support in the period following the NDP leadership race. The Canadian top issue of concern remains centered on the economy. Jobs and the economy lead, followed by inflation and relations with the United States.”
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States says global exports decreased in 2025 partly because of Canada. Whether at the grocery store or the NSLC, Martha Reynolds pays attention to where products are from. "I'm doing my very best to not buy American," she said outside a Halifax location of the province's Crown-run alcohol retailer. For alcohol, this means bourbon...
The federal government has known for decades that the second-generation cut-off is legally problematic. Despite nearly three years of consultations, the minister says more are needed before addressing it
Security experts and human rights advocates are sounding the alarm about the renewal of a co-operation agreement between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and China’s Ministry of Public Security as troubling details surface at a foreign interference trial. Court documents filed at the trial of alleged double agent William Majcher reveals that at least 25 Canadian residents were targeted by...
Canadian wineries could be adding billions more to this country’s GDP in the years ahead if the barriers they are facing were to be addressed, new analysis finds. At a time where Prime Minister Mark Carney is pushing to strengthen domestic industries, there’s significant untapped growth potential in the wine sector, according to a new Deloitte report commissioned by Wine...
As some Canadians claim that the federal government's national census violates their privacy, a Liberal member of Parliament is calling on them to fill out their 2026 census forms for the good of their communities. Canadians have been asked to fill out the census form by May 12, though Statistics Canada says that's a "reference date" rather than a deadline...
BEIJING (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday kicks off the busiest portion of his China visit, a summit expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism but unlikely to feature major breakthroughs on key issues like trade, U.S. relations with Taiwan or the war in Iran.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans on Wednesday again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Donald Trump's war with Iran, but the number of GOP senators voting against the war grew.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- During a tumultuous 2025, the United States and China proved how much they could hurt each other in a trade war. Now Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are meeting in Beijing to repair some of the damage.
Americans paid more for their groceries last month, but high gasoline prices resulting from the Iran war were only one of the reasons why.
After election victory, Reform UK leader says Canadian prairie populist Preston Manning is someone to emulate. Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage received a hero's welcome when he arrived late last week at a victory party in Chelmsford, an Essex commuter town on the outskirts of London, a world away from that city's centre of power. The silver-tongued leader of this...
A Senate bill headed for the House of Commons proposes to give the federal government explicit power to confiscate the assets of foreign states that are held in Canada, a measure that could help repurpose Russian funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Analysts say, however, that Prime Minister Mark Carney, with his majority in the Commons, will have to weigh the risks...
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has cancelled a planned speaking engagement in Ottawa. Just over one hour before Hoekstra was scheduled to be a featured speaker at the 2026 Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa, organizers announced the ambassador’s fireside chat had been cancelled. “Today’s programming has been adjusted as Ambassador Hoekstra was called to D.C. for urgent meetings,”...
Malaysia's high commissioner in Canada says she is skeptical about Prime Minister Mark Carney's push to have middle powers band together against the great power of the world's dominant nations. Shazelina Abidin told the Canadian Global Affairs Institute's annual trade conference in Ottawa on Tuesday that Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum was profound, not because of its content...
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the world “has not yet completely understood” the major economic and political implications of the war in Iran, as Fatih Birol repeated earlier comments that the war and ongoing closure of the Straight of Hormuz represents the “largest energy crisis in history.” Speaking in Ottawa at a fireside chat with Tim...
When the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force in 1982, many warned that it would undermine the foundations of Canada’s system of parliamentary democracy and usher in a new age of judicial supremacy. For a time, those concerns appeared overstated. Canadian courts exercised a degree of restraint, and the basic contours of Westminster parliamentary governance remained intact...
Canada’s declining productivity and weak competitiveness are increasingly tied to structural barriers that limit competition in domestic markets. One of the most consequential – and overlooked – of these barriers lies in public procurement. Accounting for 13.4 per cent of GDP, or roughly $350 billion annually – government purchasing should exert strong downward pressure on costs and expand opportunities for...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Canada’s privacy laws are supposed to protect ordinary citizens from unwarranted intrusions into their personal lives. But they can also protect pedophiles. Dead pedophiles. Dead pedophiles from America.
If you want to sound wise these days, just blame the crazy state of the world on polarization. If you want to sound really wise, say that fighting polarization needs to be part of the political agenda and be sure to blame social media and Donald Trump (although not necessarily in that order) for the current chaos. Despite it being...
An F-35 crash in Alaska should give shivers to Canada’s military. The pilot survived thankfully, but the $200 million plane was completely destroyed.
The former Alberta Premier wants Canadians to wake up and realize they have to speak out to show Albertans that being in Canada matters. Is he right and what does our past tell us about what needs to be done? Plus, James Moore and Gerald Butts also have something to say about Canada's increasing ties to Europe.
Experts are calling it the largest data breach in Canadian history, sparking fears for the safety of all Canadians - everyone from public figures to victims of domestic abuse.
As part of its Spring economic update, the federal government revealed that it’s considering privatizing the country’s airports. The Prime Minister says it could free up money to fund other major projects and improve air travel for Canadians.
The question above seems almost ridiculous, that we would even consider believing the world's worst terrorist government before believing the country we once thought of as the leader of the free world. But that's where we are with the latest news from the Iran War.
